


Dedication Page

by Dark_Eyed_Panda, Umehana



Series: Biking in Florida [2]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bill Denbrough Is A Darling, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mike Hanlon Deserves Love, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Minor Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-10-18 09:33:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20636957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Eyed_Panda/pseuds/Dark_Eyed_Panda, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umehana/pseuds/Umehana
Summary: Bill thinks it's time for them to get married.





	Dedication Page

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for the lovely response to our previous Fic! We hope you will also enjoy this and the other stories that are yet to come!  
And thank you Umehana for being my favorite beta and co-pilot again <3

The opportunity presented itself when Ben was on a business trip to Orlando, hence he dropped by in Winter Park before flying back to New York. Bill was off to several meetings in Burbank since the day before, therefore it was just Mike who met up with him for breakfast that morning. They enjoyed their meal greatly, joking around and keeping the other up to date with everything that had happened the last few weeks.

“How’s Georgie?” Mike asked as he finished the last bite of his omelet. It was always a delight to hear about his and Bill’s goddaughter, Georgiana. After all that had happened, there had been a dire need for happiness and Georgie brought them just that.

“She’s called me ‘dada’ a week ago!” Ben’s eyes immediately lit up with joy, “Here, scoot over, let me show you the video.”

He sat next to Mike, rummaged around in his pockets, took out his phone and gave it to him after a few taps.

_ Bev was sitting on the bed with a little girl who had curly ginger hair and hazel eyes. _

_ “Georgie, that’s ‘dada’.” She pointed at the camera, thus at Ben, “Say ‘dada’, Georgie.” _

_ Georgie wobbled with her hands and smiled. She had 4 teeth already and managed to look a bit like an old witch and a rabbit combined. All in all, an adorable look on her. _

_ “Mama,” she said happily, completely sure of herself. _

_ “No-no-no, Georgie, it’s ‘dada’,” Ben laughed behind the camera. _

_ Georgie looked up and frowned a little, as if she was deciding how to pronounce it properly. _

_ “Dada,” she finally said. _

_ The camera trembled immensely, apparently Ben had nearly dropped it. “Oh my God!” He exclaimed, “Oh my God she said it!” The floor was filmed for a few seconds, then a genuinely laughing Bev entered the frame again. She took the phone off a watery-eyed Ben and he lifted Georgie onto his lap. _

_ “Say that again, Georgie, say ‘dada’.” _

_ Georgie patted his beard and tugged at his hair. _

_ “Mama,” she said, grinning broadly. _

_ Bev laughed again and cut off the video. _

“Ben, that’s wonderful!” Mike said when he handed Ben back his phone.

“Yeah.” Ben beamed at him, “I just hope she remembers how to say it when I get back tomorrow.”

“She definitely will,” said Mike, “Can you send me that video? I want to show it to Bill, he’ll love it.”

“Sure,” Ben smiled and a few seconds later Mike’s phone buzzed, signalling the arrival of a new message.

“Speaking of Bill, have you gotten a sneak peak of his new book already?” Ben then asked, “He told me he’s almost finished and I’m really excited!”

“Not yet,” said Mike, “He’s somehow keeping it from me. Well, that could be my imagination, at least he’s more secretive about it than usually.”

He actually hadn’t asked. Bill would have come to him if he wanted him to read it before the manuscript went to the editor. Other than a few complaints about where he had gotten stuck with the plot or headstrong characters who didn’t want to do the things they were supposed to, Bill hadn’t confided in him at all this time. But Mike imagined that he wanted it to somehow be a surprise. After all, it was the first book he’d written after they’d started dating. Bill had already told Mike that he was going to make it to the dedication page. He had since been curious what message Bill was going to gift him.

Bill got home in the evening the day after, looking utterly exhausted.

“What happened?” asked Mike concerned when he put his suitcase in the boot. He always picked him up from the airport when he had been away, especially when he had been away working. He knew that Bill appreciated this deeply even though he oftentimes was too tired to do more than slump against him and being practically carried to their car.

Bill sighed as he got into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt, Mike followed shortly after and started the engine. After a while of driving in comfortable silence, Bill spoke up.

“They want to change so many things. I have no saying whatsoever in this since I’ve sold the rights already, but it still makes me mad.” Bill lowered the window and the evening breeze whirled inside. He took a deep breath and continued, “Sometimes I think I should just become a full-time screenwriter instead. At least then I get to decide what they do to my characters.” He looked at Mike and smiled wearily, “But first I got to publish this new book I’m working on.”

“Have you finished it already?” Mike asked.

Bill nodded, “Yeah. I’ve sent it to my editor and he’s greenlit it already.”

“I’m looking forward to it, then.”

“Y-you better be.” Bill sounded both amused, nervous and immensely proud of himself.

Damn, Mike really wanted to know what that book was about.

He then remembered his conversation with Ben and the video he’d sent him the day before. He took out his phone and handed it to Bill when they were waiting for the traffic lights to turn green.

“Ben sent me this video of Georgie’s first ‘dada’ yesterday,” he explained when Bill gave him a questioning look, “it’s in my gallery. I thought you might wanna watch it.”

“Really? Of course I wanna watch it!” Bill’s tiredness seemed to magically float away and Mike chuckled. “That just about saves my last few days,” he tapped in the password, opened the file and watched the video with the most gentle expression and fondness almost radiating from his face.

Mike loved their goddaughter dearly, but it was nothing compared to Bill. To him she was probably the sweetest miracle in the world. They’d flown to New York when she was born. Bill had cried harder than Ben when it was his turn to hold her tiny body in his hands, forcing out a smile when he greeted her with a broken whisper: “Hello, Georgie, it’s been a long time.”

It was like a cycle, really. This name that once brought them all together was now carrying on their hopes towards the future.

Bill seemed to pour all the love he hadn’t the chance to give his brother onto Georgiana. He sent her little gifts regularly even though he knew Ben and Bev could afford almost anything they wanted. He’d flown to New York 5 times in 8 months to visit her. He’d dedicated a book to her. He was so in love with her Mike sometimes wondered if he should be jealous of an 8-month-old infant. 

He would never be, of course. If Bill had decided to give Georgiana a star, he would’ve helped him pluck it from the sky.

Later that night, when they both lied in bed, the dim light of the lamp drawing their silhouettes, Mike eventually decided to ask, “Say, what’s the story of your new book?”

Bill looked surprised for a second, then he chuckled, “So you’re f-finally asking me. I’ve caught you trying to pry on my computer a few times.”

“I thought maybe you wanted to surprise me.”

“Oh Mikey,” Bill turned around so he was facing his boyfriend. He smiled and gave him a chaste kiss, “There _ is _ a hidden surprise, but it’s not the plot. Well, to make a long story short, it’s about a guy named Walter who is caught in a creepy prison and meets the girl of his life. Then followed by multiple plot twists that I’m _ not _ spoiling you and finally, a happy ending.” He frowned and added, “S-sort of.”

“Sort of?” Mike raised an eyebrow skeptically, “I think I don’t have to remind you how many fans sent you letters complaining about the ‘brilliant but life-destroying’ ending of your last book.”

“‘Brilliant’ is all what I care to hear and what I choose to hear,” said Bill with a playfully indignant look, “I thought you liked it, at least that’s what you told me, you crook.”

“Yes, it was a brilliant ending,” Mike laughed quietly, “I loved it. Although it really was quite sad in some points. He sacrificed himself to save the girl without confessing to her, for instance. That was hard to cope with after 1000 pages of an unrequited love story. No wonder you broke so many hearts.”

“As long as we’re happy in real life,” Bill mumbled sleepily, “And it w-weren’t 1000 pages. Just about 925...”

Mike couldn’t help but chuckle. He pulled Bill a bit tighter into his arms and nuzzled his nose into that soft brown hair. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

They indeed were happy. Last summer, after Eddie and Richie’s wedding, Mike moved to Winter Park and Bill followed soon after he’d packed his things in Chicago. They’d bought a nice 2-story house together in a quiet neighborhood and sometimes wondered at how easily they had managed to settle down. 

And life was good to them. 

Mike had been overjoyed when he'd found out about a free position at the public library. He had applied in no time, gotten an interview and had been employed right away. Since then he’d been engaged in planning usual reading events, but also projects for children, where he would explore the world of literature, history and even sometimes cinema with them.

Bill published his second book that he’d been writing since they got back from Derry in fall. It climbed up the best-selling lists like a rocket shooting up in the sky. Lots of reviews were particularly praising its “tragic but magnificent ending”. Bill got excited calls from the other Losers, whom he’d of course all sent a personalized signed copy. Especially Eddie ranted for hours about how Richie had spoiled the whole book before he could have read it, while Richie in the background shouted “It was payback!” and Eddie eventually threatened him with divorce (although according to Richie that happened every Tuesday).

Life went on, fall turned into winter, though it never really felt like winter despite the town’s name. They’d barely noticed the change before winter was already gone and spring took over the city again. Soon everything was sprouting, growing, and the grey and brown streets turned green and blooming.

Mike seriously couldn’t have imagined a better life. There still was the vivid memory of himself living in the tower of Derry’s library not even two years ago, sometimes haunting his dreams, making him slightly disoriented when he woke up and found himself somewhere else entirely. Yet most of the time he wondered if it was just a story from another lifetime. Over those 27 years, starting a life in peace with the person he loved most had been a mere dream that’d seemed to be doomed. But now he seemed to be living the dream and the once horrid reality was but a distant thought.

Here he was, sitting in their kitchen and drinking freshly made coffee. The early morning sun was beaming through the trees by the window and the peaceful buzzing of a lawn mower down the street was accompanied by the laughter of the neighbor’s kids playing outside in their garden. They were darlings, he met them quite regularly, not just on the streets, but also because his library projects had won their mother’s high opinion and every time he had planned something new, she would bring them over. It was a good life, Mike thought to himself and finished his coffee. Just as he went over to the sink to put his mug away, he flinched.

There was some noise, then a loud crash coming from upstairs, followed by a series of swear words as Bill came rushing down into the kitchen.

“What happened?” Mike set his coffee mug on the table and stood up.

“Chain reaction,” Bill said, he sighed, obviously frustrated, and washed his hands. The front of his T-shirt was covered with blue ink. “I knocked my mug over because I’ve been my clumsy self again, it went all over my keyboard and w-when I was getting out of the way I b-bumped my head on the shelf and a book fell down, knocking over an opened bottle of ink because I was refilling my pen and here I am.” He pulled off his T-shirt and dropped it in the sink to avoid staining anything else, “Damn it, it’s all over me. I’ll go take a shower, I-I guess.”

“Yeah go do that, I’ll clean up your study.” Mike eyed Bill as he muttered a “Thanks, Mikey, you’re the best” and couldn’t help but bite back a smile. His boyfriend looked like a smurf that hadn’t completely been transformed into a human. There was a big ink stain on his stomach, painting his skin blue from under his navel to his chest. 

Mike went upstairs to Bill’s study. Bill had been writing a column for a newspaper under a pen name the past few days and today had been the deadline. So he was surprised to see that despite the mess on the table, the room was quite tidy. Although Bill wasn’t a sloppy person by any means, he had a habit of dropping drafts, notes and really just all sorts of random paper everywhere on his floor due to his growing anxiety whenever a deadline was nearing.

Mike got some tissues and towels to wipe up the ink and started his work. He cleaned the desk, put the book back on the shelf, tested the keyboard and found that it was a lost cause. He made a mental note on his to-do list to buy a new keyboard when going to town tomorrow.

When he was about to go back downstairs, his sight was caught by a thick pad of paper sitting on the edge of a shelf by the door. On the first page it said “The Establishment”. It was Bill’s new book.

Mike hesitated for a moment but couldn’t resist taking a look at the manuscript when chance laid it in his way so perfectly. He lifted the first page and saw the dedication that was beneath it.

_ To Mike_, it read, _ thank you for always staying with me until the last page _.

Mike felt himself grinning like the besotted idiot he was. He had known before that Bill was going to dedicate the book to him, but seeing it black on white in front of him was an entirely different feeling. But for now he put down the stack of paper and went downstairs.

Bill had already finished taking his shower and was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee, his hair still a wet mess.

“Thanks Mikey,” he said and kissed Mike’s fingers as he walked past him to sit down, “Tell me the keyboard isn’t broken.”

“Sorry, I'll have to disappoint you. It’s broken. It was soaked in water and ink,” answered Mike and threw an arm around him.

Bill sighed, let himself lean against Mike and took off his reading glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Damn,” he said. 

“At least your computer isn’t broken,” said Mike.

“Yeah.” Bill took a sip of his coffee and hummed in agreement, “Well _ that _ really would’ve been the end of the world.”

Three months later, Bill came home with a brand-new copy of “The Establishment” and a wide grin on his face.

“Tah-dah, here it is!” He said excitedly, showing off the thick tome in his hands.

“Congratulations, Bill!” Mike hugged him tightly and planted a kiss on his head, “I’m so proud of you. It’ll hit the best-selling list in no time, I’m sure of it.”

“Oh shush, as long as you read it.” Bill blushed happily, “I hope you'll like it.”

Mike took the book from his hands and smiled broadly, “I certainly will.”

Later that evening, Mike was already lying in bed while Bill was still in his study busily writing the new chapter of his next draft that he wanted to finish today. Mike took “The Establishment” in his hands and began to read. He opened it and his eyes landed on the dedication page right away.

_ To Mike _

_ Thank you for always staying with me until the last page. _

It struck him like lightning. How couldn’t he have noticed before?

He quickly leafed through the book until he found the final page. His gaze dropped on the last sentence and for a few moments he forgot how to breathe.

_ “I wanted to ask you a long time ago,” Walter said and smiled, “Will you marry me?” _

Frantically he got up, picked up a pencil from his desk and wrote down his answer just under that last sentence.

“I will.”

Then he put the book on Bill’s nightstand.


End file.
